Camper Bearings

Fellow campers. You would think everyone would be aware of this but after speaking to a number of boat and camper trailer owners, there is a need to get the word out.
Apparently ALL and I mean all trailers must have their wheel bearings greased and maintained on a regular basis. My husband knew this having had boats for years but had not up until recently greased the camper bearings.
After hearing stories of wheels locking up and even breaking off during route, we decided to take it more seriously. One of our friends had a wheel come off and he watched it roll on ahead of him down the road. This happened on a narrow bridge which was very dangerous. The police instructed him to remove his vehicles to avoid a serious traffic jam. He had to drag his boat and trailer off the bridge with one wheel.
As we prepared for our next trip to Gamble Rogers, I found the camper book and the instructions on greasing the bearings and promptly asked my dear Hubby to take care of this task.
Amazingly on our return trip we saw an unfortunate soul on the side of the road with a wheel missing from the boat trailer. The trailer had made quite a mess as it skidded off the road. We were almost certain this was caused by a bearing problem.
So fellow campers, in the name of safety we urge you to follow your campers instructions and GREASE YOUR BEARINGS!

Grilled Fish in Foil

At our most recent trip to the beach we decided to have some meals with seafood. We had a shrimp boil one night. Then the next we had grilled fish in foil. We used Mahi Mahi but any firm white fish will do. We have done this with grouper, snapper and sea trout as well.
Ingredients:
any firm white fish
salt
1 lime (preferred) or lemon
1/2 med. onion
1 Anaheim pepper (Anaheims are best but any pepper can be used)
olive oil
1 tomato
Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic

Make a foil pan large enough to cover fish. Squeeze lime over both sides of fish. Sprinkle both sides with salt and Chef Paul's Seafood magic. Cut up vegetables and in separate bowl toss with olive oil and a little white wine if you have any. At this stage I also cut up and added the left over shrimp from the night before. Pour over fish. Place foil bag (closed lightly) on grill over hot coals for approx. 20 minutes. At this point, carefully open foil and check fish. If it flakes easily and is no longer opaque inside, it is done. This entire process takes less than 40 minutes, is easy and most of all, DELICIOUS! Enjoy.
I have to give my brother Craig credit for this recipe. He fixed it for us once with some variations from this. Be creative, you can add whatever you like to this dish.
Tip: You can find Chef Paul's seasonings at most groceries or through the Amazon link on this page. I always keep the Seafood magic at home and on the camper. It makes any seafood a culinary delight.

Gamble Rogers State Park

We had the privilege of staying in Gamble Rogers State Park Labor Day week. This park is located in Flagler Beach on the Atlantic Ocean. We were camped at site #17 and what a view we had! All of the Gamble Rogers slide show pictures were taken from our site except one. We were delighted to see all the wild flowers covering the dunes. We could sit at our site watching the ocean and butterflies dancing around the wild flowers. Even though it was still summer, we did not need air conditioning because of a constant cool sea breeze.
We were able to take a short walk across a boardwalk right to the beach. This beach has a unique reddish tint to the sand. It was clean and not at all crowded. Many times we would walk the shore and not pass a soul. We swam, fished and took long walks along the shore. We watched the moon rise over the ocean the first night there and it was a beautiful sight to behold. We took a night time walk and could plainly make our way by the moonlight.
Many people were surf fishing and Whiting seemed to be what was running at the time. The park also has a side on the river where there is a boat ramp and fishing dock. In the river you can fish for Redfish, Whiting, Mangrove Snapper and Trout.
Most of the sites do not offer much privacy but if you, like us, enjoy watching the surf and sea, that was not a problem. Due to the sea breeze we were not bothered by any bugs, biting or otherwise. The restrooms were clean and well maintained. There is a dish washing station and per the Park staff there will soon be a washer and dryer. It is a small campground which is nestled between highway A1A and the ocean. We were concerned that the proximity to the road would be a noise problem, but it was not. The sound of the ocean waves was the dominate sound and it was wonderful. The campground was very quiet and as usual, the campers were friendly.
Anyone who loves the beach has to make this one of their camping destinations. We slept all night under the sea breeze and awoke to sound of surf and the sunrise coming in the window each morning. We hated to leave and definitely plan to return.
The Happy Camper recommends this campground. But keep an eye on the weather, especially in hurricane season. We had a storm blow up quickly and sent our awning sailing over the top of our camper. Luckily we only suffered a couple bent poles.

An Angry Mother

We love to hike when on camping trips. During one trip to Blue Spring we decided to take a trail along the river. It was spring time and everything was lush and green. We were looking forward to a nice long morning hike to work up an appetite for lunch. Only a few minutes into our hike we spotted a female wild turkey. This is not unusual. What was unusual was that she did not run. They are extremely shy and once spotted, soon vanish. This one however stayed put and we soon discovered why. There directly at the base of a tree in front of us were several of her chicks. They were so adorable. They were huddled together and peeping. We felt so fortunate to be able to witness this rare scene. I was dying to get a closer look and take some pictures but every time we got closer, mama clearly got upset. The tree they were huddled under was right on the trail and mama was about 15 feet ahead of us. We decided to just walk quietly several feet around them and resume our hike. We figured mama would just run off in the woods. Well she ran, but not in the woods. She came running, flapping and cackling at us. For a split second I froze but not my husband, he went running past me in a blur. I turned and followed with the turkey at our heels. Once out of the woods we laughed so hard and so long it hurt. It was hilarious. Two grown hikers chased out of the woods by a turkey. Lesson learned: don't mess with mama, any mama!

Pan Fried Steak with Mushrooms and Onions

Has this happened to you? You are ready to grill a juicy steak and found the campsite grill was so gross you didn't even want to put your food on it? If not, your lucky. We use tin foil with slits cut in it to cover them for burgers but we did not think that would work for steaks. So once again when camping--improvise. We never go anywhere with out our cast iron skillet (see Granny Knows Best post). We do fish in it a home so I thought, why not steaks? I marinated them for about an hour in lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and McCormick Grill Mate BBQ seasoning(which is great by the way). I don't add salt because salt can toughen meat. Add salt at the table.
We were staying in a cabin at Blue Spring so I pre-cooked the potatoes in a microwave and then wrapped in foil to put on the grill with the meat. Raw potatoes would take forever on an open grill. You could pre-cook them before your trip and re-heat on the grill, or cut them up into cubes, par boil them on a camp stove,then finish in foil and butter on the grill. They are very yummy!
After heating a little oil in the skillet we pan fried the steaks for about 10 minutes on each side with sliced onions and mushrooms. The meal was a success. It makes my mouth water just looking at the picture I added to this post.
So next time you want steaks, give it a try. This method also holds in more of the meats natural juices and the marinade.
The Happy Camper